Two Ohio Co. Women Charged with Meth Manufacturing

The arrests of two Fordsville residents on Sunday is the latest in a string of meth-related arrests in recent days.

Two western Kentucky women are facing meth charges after state troopers say they found an active meth lab in an Ohio County home.

Virginia Norris and Tara Payne, both 24, were arrested Sunday night in Fordsville. Norris' two children where there at the time. Family members took the kids to get checked out at the hospital. These are the latest in a series of arrests across Ohio County in recent days.

In Ohio County, they welcome you to catch the bluegrass spirit. But lately, deputies and state troopers are catching something else: meth manufacturers.

"I saw three or four police cars in the house two doors down from my mom," says Gail Evers, who was visiting family on Sunday. The latest to be arrested: Virginia Norris and Tara Payne, arrested Sunday night at a home on East Main Street.

"It just hard to describe," Evers says. "This is a small, nice little town, and people have always looked out for each other."

It follows last week's arrests by Ohio County Sheriff's Deputies of Lori Miller Of Cromwell and Crystal Embry Of Echols, both for allegedly making meth. Troopers say there's still too many labs out there, but they're seeing more busts of still active labs in recent months.

"We're gathering the information real quick, trooper and deputy go out there," says Trooper Corey King of the Kentucky State Police. "We do see where the units go up to the house and they are in the process of manufacturing meth. And it leads to the arrests."

"I'm hoping that this town is a little safer," Evers adds. And authorities hope Ohio County residents catch on to the meth problem and help catch more manufacturers.

Norris and Payne are both being held in the Ohio County Detention Center. Investigators say an anonymous tip led to the arrests. You can report any suspicious drug activity to local law enforcement.

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